1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a composite camera, and more particularly, to a camera which integrates a still-picture camera (which uses a silver-halide film or the like) with a video camera (video movie camera).
2. Description of the Related Art
In events, such as athletic contests, literary exercises and the like, there has been a desire to perform a photographing operation using a still-picture camera for recording still images using a silver-halide film or the like while performing a photographing operation using a video camera for recording moving images on a recording medium, such as a magnetic tape or the like.
On the other hand, there exists the opinion that it is troublesome to carry both a video camera and a still-picture camera during a trip or the like. In order to fulfill such requests, various kinds of cameras each integrating a video camera and a still-picture camera have been proposed.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,546,375 discloses a camera in which a moving mirror is disposed in the optical path of a photographing objective lens, and still pictures and moving pictures can be recorded on different recording media by selectively switching the position of the moving mirror.
Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open Application (Kokai) No. 57-96444 (1982) discloses a camera in which an optical photographing unit for photographing images on a silver-halide film is detachably mounted integrally with or separately from a main body of a video camera. Japanese Patent Laid-Open Application (Kokai) No. 1-185533 (1989) discloses a composite camera having a confirming function in which an image signal from a photoelectric image pickup device corresponding to an image to be focused onto a silver-halide film is displayed on a monitor.
However, the above-described conventional cameras do not provide sufficient means to prevent a decrease in the operability caused by integrating a camera for photographing still pictures and a camera for photographing moving pictures, and to enable the user to easily perform a photographing operation intended by the user.
In conventional composite cameras, there are provided a trigger button for starting and stopping moving-picture recording (in an ordinary video camera, recording/stopping is repeated every time the trigger button is switched on), and a shutter button for still-picture recording. In a composite camera proposed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Application (Kokai) No. 63-261336 (1988), a trigger button for moving-picture recording and a shutter button for still-picture recording are provided at different surfaces of the camera.
In such a camera, since a starting/stopping operation for moving-picture recording and an operation for still-picture recording are performed using different fingers of the photographer, the probability of a mistaken operation is reduced. However, the following problems remain even in this camera.
The photographer must always utilize one finger for the trigger button for moving-picture recording and another finger for the shutter button for still-picture recording even while he devotes himself to a photographing operation. If he happens to depress a wrong button, a mistaken operation will occur.
When he happens to depress the shutter button for still-picture recording intending to stop moving-picture recording, no fatal result is obtained although moving-picture recording for an extra time period and an extra still picture result.
On the other hand, if the trigger button for moving-picture recording is depressed intending to depress the shutter button for still-picture recording (or the two buttons are simultaneously depressed), a worst case may occur in which the crucial moment of recording a still picture during moving-picture recording has been missed, and instead moving-picture recording has been interrupted and a still picture has not been recorded either.